Gospel for God’s Children by Linda Shields:
Messiah: Ancient Superhero?
The Jews, Jesus' people, believed that God would send a special person to rescue everyone. Throughout the Old Testament of the Bible, you will find many clues and hints about this hero who would come.
You will find references to the Messiah all through the Old Testament, usually in the books of the prophets - people who preached about what God had in store for the future. Finding the Messiah in the Old Testament is like an Easter Egg hunt. There's a clue hidden here, another one there, and yet another detail hidden somewhere else.
There are about sixty important predictions about Jesus in the Old Testament. The Prophets were giving details of someone who would not be born for hundreds of years.
A science professor named Dr. Peter Stoner and six hundred students wanted to find out the liklihood of someone fulfilling so many prophecies. They came up with very reasonable estimates using complicated math equations to figure out that a person just fulfilling eight of the prophecies was one in a hundred million billion.
The story of Jesus comes from four different authors: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We call them the Gospels, which means 'good news.'
John, a disciple tells us, "which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched" (1 John 1:1NIV)
Luke is a first-rate reporter, he says, " I myself have carefully looked into everything from the beginning. So it seemed good also to me to write an orderly report of exactly what happened" (Luke 1: 3). Then there's Mark, who got much of his account from Peter, a particularly close friend of Jesus.
Peter states in his own writings, " We didn't make up stories when we told you about it. With our own eyes we saw him in all his majesty." (2 Peter 1: 16).
The Gospel writers were careful to show their accounts came from eyewitnesses: the disciples, the people who were healed, those who heard Jesus' teachings, and even Mary and Joseph who raised Jesus.
The story of Jesus has stood the test of time for over two thousand years with no one disproving it. The story is so strong because it was told by eyewitnesses who were willing to die for their story.
Smart people believed in him, and smart people still believe in him today.
They seem to find that following Jesus makes their lives better and happier when times are rough. It gives them answers for their questions about how to live. Following Jesus gives them a friendship like no other.
Prayer:
Dear God, Thank you for your prophets, thank you for the clues they passed on to us that proved your son Jesus, and the eyewitnesses who were willing to die to give us the good news. Amen
God Bless.